It is common to use paper or plastic bags to collect outdoor debris. The debris may include garbage, but also yard debris such as leaves, grass clippings and the like.
Conventionally when yard debris like leaves are raked or blown into a pile, a person must gather the raked/blown material by hand and place it into a bag that also must be held open. This lacks efficiency in that completion of the task generally requires further raking/blowing as usually not all of the pile is easily placed into the bag on one attempt. This, as a result, increases the number of times a person must bend and lift to pick up the debris.
For this reason, some people use devices such as plastic tarps, blankets, etc. to hold the debris (especially in this case leaves) and then load them into a trash bag for disposal. This method generally requires the debris to be lifted from the ground and placed in the open end of a bag.
In addition, there are a number of devices that keep the mouth of a bag open for easier placement of debris in the bag.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,593,117 issued Jan. 4, 1997 to Alexander discloses a lawn and garden debris collecting apparatus. The apparatus consists of a forward component and rearward components, the two being connected by a flexible strap. The forward component includes a solid frame defining an open channel into which debris is introduced. The forward component and rear component together hold the bag in place.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,655,739 issued to The-Wah Goo on Mar. 23, 1995 discloses a bag holder including a scoop and a locking ring for engaging the scoop and maintaining a bag in position on the scoop. The scoop is a hollow device with a mouth and a base. A channel extends inwardly from the mouth of the scoop towards the base. In use, a bag is retained in an open position between the ring and the base of the scoop, and a user funnels debris into the mouth, through the scoop, and into the bag.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,011,103 issued to Hayes on Apr. 5, 1990 discloses a collapsible frame that supports a leaf bag in such a position that a portion of the bag rests horizontally on the ground and the remainder of the bag is so attached to the frame so as to present a large arch-shaped opening to facilitate the collection of leaves, grass trimmings and other garden and lawn debris. The arch is formed by an overhead, resilient rod member inserted through an overhead receiving hem or fabric tunnel in or adjacent the perimeter of entrance to the bag. A pair of elongated rigid stabilizing feet are placed along the ground within the entrance to the bag. The ends of the overhead rod member are then inserted in an upwardly facing support cavity on each stabilizing foot. The frame is collapsed by removing the resilient rod member from the pair of elongated rigid stabilizing feet.
Therefore, it can be seen that there is a need for an improved bagger apparatus, particularly a collapsible wide-open device. This invention allows for a greater amount of yard debris to be raked or blown onto the apparatus at one time thereby reducing the raking/blowing, bending and lifting associated with leaf gathering.
There are a number of disadvantages in the prior art. One disadvantage is that the prior art devices generally contain numerous parts and are relatively difficult to manufacture and to assemble, and expensive to produce. Another disadvantage, is that in ordinary use, it is sometimes desirable to rake or blow the debris into the opening of the bag, other times it is desirable to move the debris into a pile on a collecting device in a collapsed position.
There is therefore a need for a dual upright/collapsed position collection device that is easy to manufacture and use.